Tankers have been issued with new deck-cooling orders by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). The directive applies from this month and involves all crude, product and chemical tankers carrying cargoes with flashpoints of less than 18 degrees. In a note to members, BIMCO said the move was being made to ensure the safety of canal operations, as well as to reduce disruptions in transit scheduling. Main decks must be cooled by a sprinkler system, or any other means available during transit. This will prevent automatic activation of release relief valves ...

Your Managers would like to draw your attention to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidance as set forth in the annex to the attached document MEPC.1/Circ.878, Guidance on the Development of a Ship Implementation Plan for the Consistent Implementation of the 0.50% Sulphur Limit Under MARPOL Annex VI. While there currently is no mandatory requirement to have an implementation plan, Port State Control authorities may likely take the status of any plan-or lack thereof-into consideration when verifying compliance after January 1, 2020. It is therefore recommended that vessels have one ...

The below FAQs are intended to assist members (as owners and charterers) in preparing their charterparties for IMO 2020. Whilst this is not intended to be formal legal or technical advice or an exhaustive list of FAQs, it seeks to identify chartering issues arising from IMO 2020, including potential contractual responsibilities and liabilities in respect of compliance. The main focus of the FAQs is on time charterparties, although guidance is also provided in respect of voyage charterparties where appropriate. What is the ‘Sulphur Cap’ and how does it apply? Regulation ...

Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc. (SCB) is bidding farewell to some of its London office staff who have in recent years been mainly engaged in servicing the American P&I Club’s Eagle Ocean Marine (EOM) fixed premium brand. SCB has recently strengthened its EOM service capabilities throughout its offices across the globe. This has been driven by the steady expansion of EOM’s portfolio over the years, including a more than 40% increase in written premium over the past twelve months alone. Accordingly, EOM’s commitment to providing unsurpassed cover, claims and loss prevention ...

Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering port in terms of volume, supplying over 49 million tonnes in 2018. In fact, just 6 countries including Singapore supply around 60% of the world’s demand for bunkers. Singapore has indicated that it will be adopting a tough stance when it comes to enforcement of the IMO’s sulphur cap regulations (which will enter into force on 1 January 2020). The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has warned that aside from monetary fines, the master and owners of a vessel run the risk ...

Please read the below description of an incident. Keeping your company’s standards and vessel procedures in mind while reading to compare with the actions of the crew below. We will discuss the factors which led to the incident occurring and how to avoid it from happening on our vessel. A 1,100 TEU vessel departed Yantian, China on the evening of 25 September for a voyage to Keelung, Taiwan. Her calculated GM for open sea conditions was 3.5m. At that time a typhoon was developing in the western Pacific and its ...

The Club continues to receive frequent shortage claims involving bagged food cargoes (rice and sugar are those most commonly affected) being discharged in West African ports. Food is attractive to pilferers as it can easily be removed from a vessel either for consumption, for gifting to others or for sale. Bags are frequently seen to be torn due to accidental or, more commonly, deliberate rough handling: Bags often weigh up to 50kg and are consequentially difficult to manually handle. Stevedores therefore make up sling loads in the cargo hold wings ...

Further to our News Item of 11 April 2019 the United States has designated a further nine vessels and four owning companies for involvement in the carriage of petroleum cargoes from Venezuela to Cuba. A list of these designations can be found here. This action clearly underlines the intention of the U.S. authorities as outlined in our earlier News Item to interpret their sanctions regime against Venezuela as applying to non-U.S. persons and to deem that any vessel involved in the petroleum trades between Venezuela and Cuba is undertaking sanctionable ...

In Circular No. 04/19 of February 6, 2019, Members were informed that the United States had imposed new and additional sanctions on the Government of Venezuela through the designation of Petroleos De Venezuela SA (PdVSA) as a Specially Designated National (SDN). On January 28, 2019 the US designated PdVSA as an SDN and added it to the US SDN List. The immediate effect of this action was that US persons were generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with PdVSA (subject to several general licenses) and that all of PdVSA’s ...

Protection and indemnity (P&I) liability insurance is specifically designed to address the unique needs of the marine industry. It covers practically all maritime liability risks associated with the ownership and operation of a vessel, including third-party risks for damage caused to cargo during transit, risks of environmental damage such as oil spills and pollution, war, and political risks. There’s no standard underwriting form when it comes to P&I insurance. Rather, underwriters will tailor bespoke P&I coverage for each insured, based on the nature and character of the risk, and the ...

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has recently published two Marine Notices: a) No. 8 of 2019, to advise of the global implementation of the MARPOL Annex VI limit of 0.50 mass per cent concentration (0.50% m/m) sulphur content in fuel oil, for all ships, from 1 January 2020; and b) No. 9 of 2019, which provides a standard format for reporting fuel oil non-availability as provided in regulation 18.2.4 of MARPOL Annex VI that may be used to document if a ship is unable to obtain compliant fuel ...

North P&I Club put bunker quality issues and safety management centre-stage at its annual seminar for the Greek shipping community, held last week at the Yacht Club of Greece in Mikrolimano, Piraeus. North’s Colin Gillespie and John Southam spoke to the delegates on the evolving nature of safety management and the emergence of Safety Management 2.0.Arguing that a systems-based approach to safety that relies on processes and checklists is no longer sufficient, Colin and John explained the importance of a new approach to safety that embraces other vital elements, including ...

At the first quarter 2019 Board meeting, The Swedish Club reported that it had continued to deliver robust underwriting performance and preserve strong capital adequacy in 2018, amid challenging market conditions. A combined ratio of 99% was achieved. The investment was very volatile with the equity markets in free fall during December 2018. As a result, a negative investment return of -1,6% was booked at the end of December. Profits on the Underwriting side covered, in part, the investment loss. However, the overall result came to a deficit of USD ...

India’s National Maritime Day Celebrations Committee has conferred the Eminent Overseas Maritime Personality Award on North P&I Club’s Chief Underwriting Officer, Captain Savraj Mehta, on the occasion of the 56th National Maritime Day Celebrations 2019. The Eminent Overseas Maritime Personality Award recognises and honours individuals for their sustained and outstanding contribution to the maritime sector. Paul Jennings, CEO of North P&I Club, Chairman of the International Group of P&I Clubs, and Guest of Honour at the National Maritime Day Celebrations, commented, “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Savraj for nearly ...

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says ship brokers and agents are among those most at risk of exposure to fraud in the shipping industry, and urges them to carry out simple checks in order to protect themselves. In the latest issue of its Claims Review, ITIC cites the case of a ship broker which received an emailed freight invoice from an owner for $120,000. The bank account detailed in the invoice was the same as that previously used by the owner but, several hours later, a further email was received, ...